The Artifact
by RejaNuha
Summary: Chapter 2 is fixed. Based on the SNL skit, Kylo Ren becomes an undercover boss after he realizes that there are many departments on his base that he has no knowledge of. When a brief encounter with one of the workers rouses his interest, he seeks to find out more about what she does to benefit the First Order and ends up forming a friendship and possibly more. Pre-movie. Kylo/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the original character.**

 **The Artifact**

 **Chapter 1: Good Evening**

Sarna hunched over the table and tried to keep her eyes focused on her plate. The cafeteria was always such an uncomfortable place. She silently stuffed spoonfuls of gruel into her mouth hoping to fill her stomach and leave as soon as possible. It was almost eight o'clock in the evening, or was that considered night? She shrugged off the thought, scrambling to get every miserable drop down before the cafeteria closed.

Rushing was stressful but so was being in a crowded cafeteria of strangers so she chose to come at unconventional hours for her mealtime to avoid the biggest crowds. It's not that anyone was mean to her but the less people, the less chance for something bad to happen. She inwardly scolded herself. _Stop thinking so negatively._ _I am grateful for this food. I am grateful for this shelter. I am grateful for having a purpose. I am grateful for my solitude._

She continued to go down the list of simple things she was grateful for to redirect her thoughts on an upward spiral. Positivity had kept her alive and untouched in a cruel world for a long time. Being grateful as a working slave afforded her certain privileges among the First Order.

She looked up from her plate, unsurprised to see that she was alone in the cafeteria besides the guards that flanked each door. She released a breath and softened the rigidity of her posture upon realizing that the few other late evening diners had vacated. Alone was always better. She held the last spoonful of gruel up to her mouth. It looked to be some sort of oat or grain, odorless, nearly colorless and almost a paste. The taste was not much to write home about either.

The idea of home crossed her mind rarely. Sometimes she would wonder where it was, what it was called and what it was like but she was too young to remember much detail. Starkiller Base was her home now.

She shoved the last tasteless helping into her mouth and chugged the water that was left in her cup. _At least it's clean_. Standing up, she hurried over to the sink and placed her dishes within before exiting the room in haste to get back to the private hollow she called home.

Walking anywhere on the base, she kept her back straight and her head held high but refused to make eye contact with anyone that she passed. Sarna declined the idea of walking hunched over and staring at the ground like some depressed weakling. She was strong. She was a good person and her general confidence had earned her some respect among the guards and stormtroopers. She only spoke when spoken to and remained civilized in her response.

Some people whose paths she crossed, seemed like they were looking for a fight- for some weakling to torture but she refused to let them win. Her kindness often took people off guard and she would walk away smirking, knowing that it was not an answer they expected.

Sarna hurried towards one of the elevators. Other staff members knew better than to question her by now. Though she wore the rags of a scavenger, she was the only person they could find skilled enough in herbology to tend to the plants and harvest their medicines and ointments. Her clothing and quiet confidence wasn't the only thing that made her stand out, but rather her icy white hair that hung in waves towards her shoulders. For someone so young, it was a peculiar feature to have a head full of hair that color.

Stepping into the elevator as the doors swung open, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was empty. She often chose this elevator because of its distance from everything important. Rarely had she had to ride in awkward silence with others but it had happened so there was always that slight fear of having to socialize.

She relaxed as the door began to slide shut but it stopped suddenly. She looked towards the entrance of the elevator in confusion. There was nothing obstructing its closing. The sharp click of boots grew in volume until they turned for the elevator. It was him. _He must've used his powers to hold the door. Why did it have to be him?_ _The leader? Kylo Ren. Why couldn't it have been a random stormtrooper of fellow staff member?_

In all her years as a working captive, she had never been so close to him. He seemed startled that anyone was in the elevator at first but then carried on as though it didn't matter. Sarna had half the heart to think of exiting to escape impending death. She'd heard rumors of his temper.

The elevator door shut, the force of it seeming harder than normal. She kept her hands folded in front of her and her shoulders back, choosing to stare at the buttons ahead. He hadn't picked a floor which could only mean that they were getting off at the same place.

Hair standing on end, her senses were certainly piqued. He was taller and more broad-shouldered than she expected. Emotion poured off of him in torrents and she could feel waves of it being directed at her. _Is he angry that I'm riding this elevator? Should I say something to acknowledge his presence? Should I bow or something? Should I let him leave the elevator first? I hope that if he wants to kill me he realizes that I'm not just some slave. I have purpose. There will be no medicine without me._

Sarna jumped as the door sprang open. She could feel Ren's eyes upon her. She waited for him to leave first, choosing to keep staring ahead at the buttons instead of anything else. The silence seemed to drag. The hallway of freedom was a mere few steps away. She took a chance a raised her gaze towards his lofty black helm.

Kylo Ren's head tilted slightly to the side. Without a word, he raised the palm of one hand towards the door as if to say 'after you.'

Sarna nodded. "Good evening to you, sir," she said in her soft voice as she turned to exit the lift.

If at all possible, the hair on the back of her neck spiked higher. Her heart raced as she heard the click of his boots follow her down the passageway. He kept a safe distance but she could still feel his eyes and hear the echo of his boot heels through all the twists and turns. His stride stopped when he realized where she was headed.

Sarna paused at the door to the inside gardens. She had to punch in her code and endure a swift retinal scan before the door opened. Once inside, she turned to see the figure of Kylo Ren at the end of the hall, staring back at her as the door to the gardens closed.

 _Great. Attention is the last thing I want and of all people to garner it from… Maybe he just wanted to know where I came from. Where my First Order cage was._

She piddled about the gardens as she readied for bed, making sure that everything was in its rightful place for a fresh start in the morning. She kept replaying the brief encounter with Kylo Ren in her mind, hoping against hope that she hadn't done or said anything wrong, anything to attract negative attention from him. She told herself that she'd probably never see him again as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

 **A/N: I got the original idea for this fic after watching the SNL skit where Kylo Ren does the undercover boss thing…so in the next chapter…expect to see Matt, the radar technician. If you haven't seen the skit, it's on YouTube and I highly recommend it.**

 **I was actually really nervous about coming back to the fanfiction world after so many years. It's a little daunting. I first started publishing stories in 2003-2004 until my account was compromised and I had to create this one. I transferred some of my old stories and created a few new ones that were never finished. I have no idea where this one is going but I love interacting with the readers. I am no expert on the Star Wars universe so if I get something wrong, I apologize in advance.**

 **I'm currently working on a serialized story called In Articulo Mortis that will be published on Amazon. I'm choosing to serialize it because of its length and it will also allow me to interact with readers during the process. Thank you for reading and please stay tuned for more.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: _Well that update took longer than expected. I apologize for letting my readers down and will not make any attempt to make excuses. Hopefully the rest of the story makes up for my four-five month hiatus. Thank you for reading!_

 **Chapter 2: The Morning Routine**

Weeks passed with no sign from Kylo Ren. The evening in the elevator became such a distant memory that Sarna thought it was a dream. She continued on with her day to day responsibilities, staying focused on the tasks at hand. What made Sarna so valuable to the First Order was the way she handled the plants and all of their parts. They did not know what all went into her "magical touch" but they did know that her remedies worked miracles for their sick and injured.

Her life was full of routine. Everyday was a repeat of the same ritual. After emerging from the small, primal refresher that was provided to her in the morning, she would look over her garden and loudly greet the plants with a smile plastered on her face. These were her friends and family and she took care of them with great care.

First, she would continue her greeting by individually addressing every plant in the garden as though she was a queen greeting her people. Being that there were over 300 plants in the garden, this took some time. Each plant was acknowledged, dead leaves and flowers were removed and those that required it, were watered. The whole ordeal took anywhere from 2.5 to 3 hours every morning. By that time, light had fully risen into the sky and the work day had started for others around Starkiller Base.

She looked out of her domed greenhouse to the worlds and galaxies that stretched far beyond her imagination and closed her eyes, basking in the glow of the light and dreaming of one day being free from her cage. How she longed for the fresh air of a green forest and the trickle of a creek bringing music to her ears.

The morning alarm blew and a voice came over the intercom addressing all storm troopers to report to their stations. She opened her eyes to that same alarm every morning as it disrupted her daydreaming. "One day," she said to one plant in particular, "there will be no alarm. Only the singing of the birds and the breeze through the trees to wake me from my reveries." She reached out and ran a finger along one of its broad leaves.

The plant was called Lycandis and it was the only one of its kind. No one knew exactly where it came from but it was grown in the Walking Gardens of Coruscant. Sarna treated it like a best friend since it had been with her even since she could remember. The plant set in a dark red pot- the only red pot in her greenhouse home. The pot set on a pedestal under a medium sized tree that grew in the middle of the dome.

Her stomach rumbled in protest. Eating first thing in the morning was never a thought. It often made her sick but after a few hours of work, she was on the hunt for food. Little as she was, her irritability skyrocketed when hunger reared its ugly head.

Breakfast was easy enough. She often received a fair amount of portions since her work was so valued. Being small and exerting little physical effort, she did not need the amount they gave her but kept the excess as it was a rare thing here. She fixed two portions and carried them with her towards the part of the dome that overlooked the rest of the base. Part of her hated to admit it but she enjoyed watching the pilots run through their drills and practicing their tactical maneuvers. It was small entertainment.

After breakfast, she swept the floors and began the task of shaking the oils and tinctures. Almost every plant and herb had its own oil for external use or tincture for internal use. They took weeks to make but had to be shaken everyday. For each jar of tincture or oil, she shook it then meditated over it. It was energetically draining but she had learned long ago from an unnamed teacher, the importance of grounding herself to keep her energy.

She sat on the ground with her legs crossed and spine straight. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing to almost a trance-like rhythm. The physical world around her became bleary as though it were slipped out of space and time and she was being transported elsewhere. In her mind, she was back in the forest, the sound of the creek, over her left shoulder. She imagined roots growing up from the earth and latching themselves onto her body, shooting energy up her spine.

"Here, she was happiest. She was at peace. There was no Starkiller Base. She was not a slave. Here, she was one with nature and she felt the energy coursing through her. It was strong. She waved her hand over each jar, picked each one up and channeled some of that energy into them. Once she felt that a jar had had its fill, she shook up the ingredients and placed it back on the floor near her. After all the jars were done, she stood and opened her eyes. Her shoulders slumped a bit. Returning all of the containers back to the shelves from the floor was one of her least favorite tasks.

"She normally waited until after 1 to take her lunch in the cafeteria as most people were gone or getting ready to leave by then but she was feeling particularly peckish so she chanced an early meal at half past 11.

"She wandered in and grabbed a tray, making sure to avoid eye contact with the handful of people who were already there. Once she was served her mediocre portions, she turned and frowned. There were people scattered across just about every table. It wasn't crowded but it looked like she might have to actually sit next to someone and avoid mindless chatter. There was a small group of men chatting at the end of one table and no one on the other end. She brushed past them, keeping her eyes on her target chair of solitude against the wall.

"The hair on the back of her neck bristled whenever she was in close proximity to so many others. She could pick up on the emotions and "vibes" of others for lack of a better term on her part. There was an uncertain edginess to the atmosphere today and she knew it wasn't coming from her. There was a familiarity to it that she could not place her finger on. She glanced around the room as she began to eat but found that she didn't recognize any of the faces.

"The men at the end of her table were deep in discussion. One of them was a rather portly storm trooper, another was in uniform and looked vaguely familiar. Across from them sat a tall, blonde technician with rather large glasses. He was serious about the conversation at hand. Sarna could not hear his words but the tone of his voice said enough.

"He turned his head and caught her eye for a brief moment before she turned away. Sarna cursed under her breath. The last thing she needed was some obsessive nerd thinking she was interested or had something to say to him. She cringed as she could still feel the young man's eyes on her.

"Hey," he called. "What do you think about Kylo Ren?" 


End file.
